The Austrian School’s approach to uncertainty
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24136/cxy.2025.003Keywords:
risk, uncertainty, Austrian school of economicsAbstract
Motivation: Analyzing the Austrian School of Economics (ASE) perspective on uncertainty to classify it and make it comparable to other schools of economic thought.
Aim: investigating the solutions and mechanisms proposed by Austrian economists L. von Mises, M. Rothbard, I. Kirzner, H. Hoppe, G. L. S. Shackle and L. Lachmann by categorising them within modified taxonomy and thus implicating their assumptions about nature of uncertainty.
Materials and methods: The methods employed in the article are an integrative review and a comparative framework called modified taxonomy. Materials consist of chosen works of economists from the Austrian School of Economics.
Results: The analysis indicates that authors promoting decentralised solutions such as market perceive uncertainty as stemming from non-economic sources. However, authors promoting more centralised solutions seek uncertainty from human’s ability to create a future (radical subjectivism and determinism).
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